A Call From Sam
by Measer
Summary: This set of stories is a series of one shots that follow one of Sam Cooper's from the episode “ The Out-of-Towner”, helpers.
1. A Call From Sam

Disclaimer-- Do I own Early Edition? Nope. I'm just playing with the characters and concepts. I'll put them back where I found them later. No money is was or ever will be made from this.

A/N: I originally wrote this story way back in 2000. I apparently never posted it here. Whoops. Anyway, this set of stories is a series of one shots that follow one of Sam Cooper's (from the episode " The Out-of-Towner", who gets the New York Daily News) helpers. This is my favorite, out of the stories I wrote. : )

"A Call From Sam" by Measer

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I receive a call from Sam Cooper. He says go to Times Square around three, I'll pay you the normal fee. The normal fee is more than I make at my normal job. So I take the day off and go, but I didn't expect this.

Looking around there must be dozens of 'em screaming, holding signs yelling. I put my hands over my ears to try to filter the noise out. It's not working. All these young teenage girls screaming. I wonder what they're screaming about.

My phone rings so I answer it. "Hello!" I yell.

"Mike! Where are you?" It's Sam.

"I'm at Times Square!" I yell over the crowd.

"What!!! I can't hear you... Are you at Times Square?" Sam asks.

"Yes!!" I yell. This is getting annoying. "What the hell am I doing here!"

"Which side of the street are you on?"

"What the kinda question is that." I ask. "What the hell am I doing here."

"Is there a barrier in front of you?" Sam asks. I'm getting mad.

"Sam just tell me what I'm doing here!!!" I yell. I don't hear Sam speak. All I hear is paper rustling. "Hello??!!"

"A barrier is going to break and dozens of people get pushed into traffic." Is all he say to me. How the hell does he know that? But I'm going to take his word for it. I get paid no

matter what.

"What do you mean which one? How many barriers are out there?"

"A lot!" I yell back. "There are a lot of barriers out here. What kind of barriers, police, crowd control, jaywalking..."

"I don't know it's one facing the street?"

"There's a lot of them..." I look around and see one of the barriers across the street shaking. Maybe that one?

I run across the street dodging the barrage of yellow taxis and try to hold the barrier together. It's not working. The crowd's pushing against it. I try to tighten the bolts holding the

barrier together, but I can't think, some little girl is screaming in my ear.

"Hey what are you doing." A police officer comes towards me. "You! What are you doing."

"Hey are you still there?" Sam asks.

"Let me call you back, Sam." I hang the phone up and walk towards the cop.

"Officer the barrier's loose..."

"Sure it is..."

"Just look at it. It's shaking..."

I watch as the police officer looks at the barrier. He tightens one of the bolts holding it together and looks at me.

"Come on buddy, you're coming with me." He grabs my arms and pulls out his handcuffs.

"What? What the hell did I do?" I fidget as he begins to read me my rights.

"I'm charging you with malicious mischief and if you don't stop, I'll add resisting arrest."

The officer starts reading me my rights. "Malicious mischief? I was trying to fix the damn thing!"

"Is that why all bolts were so loose. If you loosened those barriers who knows what would have happened. We put those up for crowd safety." The officer says to me. Then it hits me. Lefty loosey, righty tighty... Damn. I was loosing it.

I cop puts me in his police car and we drive off.

"Hey officer... what's with all the screaming girls anyway?" Hell, if I'm going to get arrested I want to know why.

"That's the MTV studio's there's some boy band there... or something like that." He says to me. "They're really popular with the kids these day..."

I'm getting arrested cause of some kids screaming about a boy band? I feel a headache coming on. I should of just went to work...

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The End


	2. A Day At The Ball Game

Disclaimer in part 1

a/n: originally written and posted in 2000.

"A Day at the Ball Game" by Measer

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I love Sam. He's a great guy! Not only did he bail me out of jail, but he gave me a ticket for todays Mets game at Shea. Field level seats right by the first base line at that! In the front, too. If I yell at the players, I'm sure that they can hear me. It kinda makes up for the night I spent in jail.

The score is tied and it's the bottom of the eighth. That's when my cell phone rings. I debate whether I should answer it or not. I mean, I could call them back later, after the game, but the stupid thing won't stop ringing.

"Yeah!" I yell into the phone over the noise of the home town crowd.

"Mike, it's me..."

"Sam! Man, I love you! This is a great seat! How did you get a ticket to this game? I heard this game was sold out for months..." Pulling the phone away from my ear, I boo as the opposing team's pitcher leaves the pitcher's mound. Looking over towards the bullpen, I see a relief pitcher from the opposing team exit onto the field. Oh no it's him...

The rest of the fans notice it too. They start screaming curses and derogatory comments. Heck, I even join in. I hate that guy. It's his own fault anyway, for making really negative comments about New Yorkers...

"MIKE!"

I almost forgot about Sam. "Hold on..." I continue to yell boo and hiss as the relief pitcher walks to the mound.

"MIKE!"

"YEAH SAM!" I holler into the phone, hoping that Sam can hear me, cause I can barely hear him over the crowd. It doesn't look like they're ever gonna stop booing.

"MIKE... SOMEONE'S GOING TO THROW A GLASS BOTTLE AT THE PITCHER IN A COUPLE OF MINUTES..."

"SO? GOOD FOR HIM..."

"MIKE..." I hear him nag, having this sinking feeling where this conversation is already going...

"OH... NO!"

"YES! IT'S GONNA HIT HIM IN THE HEAD AND HE'S GOING TO DIE LATER TONIGHT!"

Crap! Sam set me up!

What to do? I hate the pitcher, but I don't want him to die.

Grabbing the railing in front of me I jump onto the field. Looking around I notice that six NYPD officers have already noticed me and are running in my direction. Dashing towards the pitcher's mound, I tackle the pitcher to the ground and hear something shatter next to me.

I feel six arms grab me and a familiar cold piece of metal snap around my wrists. I turn my head and see my cell phone sitting next to my head.

"MIKE YOU STILL THERE? YOU DID IT...! IT'S GONE!"

Ahhhhhh... Sam's lucky I can't reach my phone. I would really give him a piece of my mind. The officers pick me up and escort me off the field as some of the crowd cheers for me, while others boo at the cops. It looks like I'll be spending another night in jail. And if Sam tries to bail me out... I ain't going with him.

Did I mention that I hate Sam...?

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The End.


	3. Finally Free?

A/N: The next installment in the "A Call from Sam" series. It takes place a bit after the last chapter. I never posted this part anywhere.

"Finally Free?" by Measer

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I finally got out of jail and the first thing I see is Joey Clams standing there waiting for me at the gate. There is no doubt in my mind that Sam sent him. But wait, why would he send his right hand man for me?

"Hey, Mike. What's shaking?" Joey asks standing in my path.

"Go away, Joey! Whatever you and Sam have planned for me, I don't want any part of it." I push past him and continue walking, to board the bus leaving Rikers. Joey is still standing outside, trying to talk to me.

"Mike, is that how your gonna be?" Joey says waving his arms for emphasis. "Sam wanted to apologize, but you never answered any of his calls. He says he's sorry. He even wired 50 grand into your account as a bonus."

50 grand? Good god, that's a lot of money! That's more than I make in a year with my regular job. Oh wait, knowing my luck that'll sic the IRS on me. I'm going to take the money out of my account and give it back. Everything that has involved Sam has brought me nothing but trouble.

He pulls out his cell phone. He's probably talking to Sam. My curiosity is getting the better of me, but my conscience says, ' No', he's gonna get you arrested again. That's the running pattern. I've know Sam for a little less than three months and I've been arrested at least 7 times. It doesn't really matter now, the bus door is closing and we're pulling away. I lean my head against the headrest and close my eyes. I'm done with them. Maybe I'll take the money I have and move to another city. I hear Chicago is a nice place...

The bus lurches to a stop as the bus driver starts cursing. I get out of my seat and rush to the front of the bus. Joey's standing in front of the bus', with his arms out.

"I've got nothing to say to you."

"Just come out here! I really need to talk to you."

I'm really not in the mood for this. I'm ready to swing on him. Why can't they just leave me alone? Sighing, I motion to the bus driver to let me off and I walk over to Joey who is waiting for me.

"You got until the next bus comes, Joey, " I tell him.

He's watching me. Why is he watching me? Do I have something on my face? He's beginning to give me the creeps. "Joey, you got my attention. What do you want?"

He's stalling, I can tell. Joey stares at his hands when he stalls. He's doing that now. Why is he trying so hard to keep me here?

Joey's phone starts ringing, startling us both. He answers it as I eavesdrop.

"Yeah... He's right here. You want to speak to him...?"

Joey hands me the phone. There is no doubt in my mind that it's Sam. They went to all this trouble to get my attention. I'm curious to why. "What?"

"Mike, how have you been?" Sam asks.

"Cut the crap! I'm in no mood for any of your games. What do you and your flunky want from me now!" I must have struck a nerve. There is dead silence on the line.

"I see your still... upset. That understandable, but think about it, Mike..."

I feel my anger start to boil over, like a volcano waiting to erupt. I yell rudely into the phone. "Damn right I'm upset. I got arrested. You bail me out only to get me arrested again! How would you feel if someone played you like that?"

"Will you calm down for a moment? Just one moment."

I count backwards from 10. That usually calms me down, but right now it's not really working.

"Okay Sam, what do you wish to talk to me about?"

I hear the sounds of paper rustling.

"I'm just going to get to the point. You will be killed by a car that jumps the curb and strikes you on the way to your house..."

Why do I always hear the sounds of rustling papers when Sam tells me things like this? It finally strikes me as really odd.

But I don't find it odd that he knows...

Do I believe him? You bet I do. This is something he wouldn't joke about. Freelancing for him the last three months, I've come to realize that he just knows things. How? Maybe he's psychic and I don't mean like those fake psychics that Dion Warwick is with. He just knows when and where disasters strike. He pays me and a whole bunch of other guys to stop them. What do I do? It finally sinks in that I could die.

"Mike... you still there?"

"Yeah... So what happens if I don't go home?"

I didn't hear his response. I'm just too deep into thought. Morbid visions start streaming though my head, ones of me lying on the pavement broken and battered.

"Do I... Do I see it coming?"

"No, the car hits you from behind."

I didn't even feel it, when Joey took the cell phone out of my hand.

"I'll drive him home...You want me to bring him there instead...? Okay you're the boss."

He's leading me to his car. I don't resist.

I need a drink.

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The End


End file.
